That is what The New York Times stated and I thought it was quite significant when I read that. It is worth people considering that. It is the case, if you look to see what has happened in the United States, that cannabis has a significant impact. It can generate psychosis in young people. I am not prepared to ignore that. Leaving aside that, and I appreciate and acknowledge the consistency of Senator Ruane on this issue, if we are going to have a debate on decriminalisation or legalisation, let us do that in an op…

I thank Senator McDowell for raising the issue. My reading of section 8 is that it applies to, obviously, any place where a garda is in a public place or a place where a member of the force is lawfully present. Nonetheless, I will give consideration to what he said and see whether or not it needs to be tightened up. At present, it states; A member who has reasonable grounds to suspect that a person— (a) has committed, or is committing, an offence, or (b) is in possession of a relevant article, may require the perso…

We are dealing here with amendment No. 14. It is an amendment that is unnecessary because the power in section 9 already operates in a comprehensive manner across both persons and vehicles and necessarily extends to items in a person's possession or control at the time of a lawful stop and search. Luggage and similar containers encountered in that context are already capable of being searched under the existing stop and search framework depending on whether they are on the person on in a vehicle being searched. The…

I have to go to the Dáil for a Bill. The Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, is going to take over. Is that okay?

I move: That Standing Order 194 is modified in accordance with Standing Order 241(2) to provide that it be an instruction to the Committee to which the Criminal Law, Civil Law and Defence (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2026 may be recommitted in respect of certain amendments that it has the power to make amendments to the Bill which are outside the scope of the existing subject matter of the Bill in order to: (a) make amendments to the International Criminal Court Act 2006 to: (i) give effect to the ratification b…

Good. We are getting a lot done.

I thank all the Deputies for their contributions. I am not a very philosophical person, but one thing I do know is that ministerial careers come and go very quickly and as Deputy McAuliffe said-----

I am well aware of it.

I hope individuals in this House have the great privilege to be Ministers at some stage in the future-----

-----but it comes and goes-----

-----and the officials, with the greatest respect, are outstanding people but they will be there for many years. If you want to get something done as a politician-----

-----you have to push it through. I know people are, at one level, criticising me because this Bill contains a whole variety of different issues. It does. I have tried to squash as many issues as possible into this Bill because I want to get these provisions enacted for the benefit of people, such as men in Ireland who were convicted of homosexual offences prior to decriminalisation. In fact, it was Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Nash who raised it with me in my earlier days as a Minister and said they wanted this done. I…

One of the criticisms that is regularly made is that I am not getting things done and I am sitting on things, as the Deputies are all perfectly entitled and obliged to say to me if things are not being done. I know they are not asking me to, but I am not going to apologise for trying to get important measures that are of benefit to the public enacted as quickly as possible. I think we all agree that the disregard scheme, as everyone has said, is something that should have been done decades ago. I was not going to a…

I move amendment No. 1: In page 7, line 23, after “2004,” to insert “the Criminal Justice Act 2006,”. I will deal first with amendments Nos. 1, 21 and 32. Amendment No. 1 amends the Long Title to include a reference to the Criminal Justice Act 2006. Amendment No. 21 is a technical amendment to section 16(1)(b) to substitute a reference to the singular "subsection" with a reference to the plural "subsections". Amendment No. 32 is a technical amendment to section 18 to substitute a reference to “section 38(1) and sec…

I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, line 32, after “trial;” to insert the following: “to give effect to the ratification by the State of certain amendments to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, to further enable authorities in the State to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, and for those and other related purposes to amend the International Criminal Court Act 2006;”. I am pleased to introduce these amendments, which propose a number of technical amendments to the International Crimin…

I move amendment No. 3: In page 8, line 6, after “2021;” to insert the following: “to provide that the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration may, in respect of applications made to the Minister, issue to certain persons certificates of disregard in respect of certain historical convictions and other determinations relating to consensual sexual activity;”. The amendments I am moving in this group are in respect of the disregard scheme. Amendment No. 3 is grouped with amendments Nos. 8, 12, 46 and 51 to 64…

Yes, certainly.

1962.

I am.

I thank the Deputies for their contributions. I will start with Deputy Ó Snodaigh. Like him and other Deputies, I should also commend people who are not Members of the Oireachtas but who really led the campaign to see this injustice righted, in particular, Karl Hayden and Kieran Rose. I commend them and acknowledge the excellent work they did. Deputies Ó Snodaigh and Kelly have both asked why the Bill does not apply to convictions prior to 1922. As I said to Deputy Ó Snodaigh earlier on, I have a very strong view t…